Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod released a jobs plan Thursday that says South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds.
McLeod says the flag continues to hold the state back and makes it more difficult for the state to compete economically.
The flag now flown at a monument to Confederate war dead in front of the Statehouse already has been a topic in the 2010 race. Republican candidates in their first debate in September closed the door to removing the banner.